Kurdish leader to Baghdad for talks on U.S. pact

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - The head of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish north, Masoud Barzani, flew to Baghdad on Sunday to discuss a security deal with the United States, a sign the announcement of the long-awaited pact may be closer.

Barzani is one of five political leaders, along with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and two vice presidents, who must sign off on the agreement that will govern the presence of U.S. troops after the end of this year.

"Masoud Barzani is heading a delegation going to Baghdad for meetings and dialogue with the federal government and senior Iraqi leaders," said Mahmoud Mohammed, an official in Barzani's KDP political party, one of the two large Kurdish groups in Iraq's ruling coalition.

"About the security agreement, he will explain the Kurdish position," he said.

Mohammed said Barzani would also discuss other long-running issues, such as an oil and gas law and territorial disputes in Kurdish-populated areas outside the Kurdish autonomous region.

The agreement with the United States will replace a U.N. Security Council mandate for the U.S. troops in Iraq that expires at the end of this year.

Among issues which are politically sensitive are the duration of the mandate for U.S. troops and the question of whether they can be prosecuted under Iraqi law. Washington and Baghdad have said for months that the deal is close, but have yet to finalize it.

(Reporting by Shamal Aqrawi; writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Richard Balmforth)